Annalee Newitz

Yesterday a Dublin court heard arguments in the case of Christopher Clancy, who dressed up as the Joker and set fire to his school for its "hypocrisy" and for treating students "as sub-human." He did €1m worth of damage.

According to the Irish Independent:

Garda Liam Ganny told the court that Clancy, who had left the school the previous November, filled six large jerry cans with petrol and cut his way through a wire-mesh fence to access the school grounds.

He smashed in a glass door and proceeded to spill the contents of one can along the corridor. He then lit the petrol and escaped from the school.

When gardai arrived at the scene they noticed a man dressed "in a purple suit, with green hair, a white face and red painted lips".

"He was dressed up as The Joker from 'Batman'," said Gda Ganny. "He then told us to go around the corner and we would see what he had done."

Clancy had video-recorded the burning building on his mobile phone and had planned to send the video clip to his friends.

He told gardai he had left the school five months previous to the arson attack and "that's when I planned the attack".

He purchased the jerry cans over a five-week period and hid them in the bushes near the school. He bought 100 litres of petrol from a nearby petrol station.

He told gardai: "I am glad I did it because the people will realise they can't treat students as sub-human."

The judge in the case called this a "one-off incident," and seemed inclined to be lenient - she ordered Clancy to get medical help and postponed sentencing until October. Clancy is currently planning to attend the Dun Laoghaire College of Art and Design in September. I, for one, am looking forward to seeing this lad's artwork.